


this snow globe scene is turning me

by brahe



Series: brahe's 2017 advent bingo [8]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Bonding, Charles in a Wheelchair, Charles is a Professor, Erik Has Feelings, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, Erik is a Sweetheart, Family Feels, Fluff, Ice Skating, M/M, ac2017, adventchallenge, author's choice, tbh i'm not really sure what this is or where it came from, winter fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 14:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12961005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brahe/pseuds/brahe
Summary: Charles and Erik take some of the children ice skating over the winter vacation, and Erik makes some realizations.





	this snow globe scene is turning me

**Author's Note:**

> honestly?? idk what this is. today was a hella busy day for me (two finals and then driving home and then snoW) so i didn't really have much time to work on this. this was originally supposed to fill the "family drama" tile on my bingo card, but as i wrote it, it got so far away from me, so i used it for the author's choice bc i still kinda like it but it doesn't really fit any of the squares.  
> also, another first for the fandom here. i've read lots (and lots) of fics for these dorks but haven't written any, so i used this challenge to get my ass in gear and actually write something for them. more is definitely coming.
> 
> title from my second fave christmas song, winter dreams by kelly clarkson

It's the first day of the winter break. Those students who don't stay have been picked up or left already, leaving about half the student body at the school. Some of the older kids will leave for a few days as they do every year, some kind of bonding event as they tell Charles. He's simply glad they get along, and doesn't ask questions.

Charles is in his study, finishing the grades for the semester. Raven is with him, curled on the loveseat in front of the window, the soft sound of a page turning every minute or so. It's warm inside - the fireplace burning happily away - and content. Raven's mind is more open than usual, and the few surface thoughts she allows Charles to catch are those of comfort.

"You should take the children ice skating," she says after some time.

Charles isn't paying much attention. "Hm?"

"Those who want to go, of course. The temperature is already low enough for the rinks to be operational, and I'm sure the children would love the trip."

Charles looks at her about halfway through to see that she's watching the light snowfall through the window. He tilts his head, considers the idea. It would certainly keep them occupied, and a day out of the mansion now could be good if they end up snowed in later. There are a lot of them, though, and many don't have control mastered very well.

Raven turns to him. "I know what you're thinking," she says, wry smile. "But between you, me, and Erik, I think we can manage. And besides, not all of them will want to come."

Charles considers for a moment longer, but they both know what his answer will be. "I'll work on it," he tells her. "If there's a place close by and Erik's willing to come, then we'll go." 

She smiles, mostly to herself, and the sounds of turning pages fill the room again.

 

Three days later, Charles tells the children over breakfast. "Today we're going ice skating," he says. "For those who want to come," he adds, but it's not like he needs to. The room lights up immediately, and the younger children run off to their rooms, no doubt searching for hats and mittens and boots. The teenagers left in the room clear the table quickly, and then they're rushing off too, followed by Charles's shouted, "We're leaving in an hour!"

Erik takes a seat beside Charles, looks at him over the top of his coffee. His hair is bed ruffled and unruly, and he's got a robe thrown over what's no doubt a long sleeve, and a blanket over his lap.

"Chilly?" Erik asks, raising an eyebrow. Charles looks up from his newspaper to glare at Erik half-heartedly.

"No," he says, sounding entirely petulant, and Erik smiles.

"Of course, dear," he says, laughs quietly to himself when Charles huffs.

"We should be getting ready, too," he says. Erik hums.

"Soon," he agrees, takes a sip of his coffee and enjoys the way it warms him inside out. He takes the back sheet off Charles paper, smirks at the indignant _hey!_ he gets, and settles back into his chair, legs crossed on Charles's lap, Charles's hand wrapped around his ankle.

 

There's about ten or eleven of them going, in total. Raven ushers the children into the car, ensures their seat belts are on, and then stands in the snowy driveway with the few too young for today's event. Charles rolls to a stop beside her.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" he asks, and she smiles at him, adjusts the little girl at her waist from one side to the other.

"Am I sure," she scoffs. "Go, Charles. Have fun. Lord knows you need to get out of the house."

"I get out," he says, but Raven only laughs at him.

"Sure," she tells him. "See you later." 

Raven waves, and the children in the car turn to wave back at her as Erik pulls them out of the driveway and into town. The chatting in the back sounds more like yelling less than two seconds later, but Charles simply builds up a little buffer for himself and Erik and enjoys the snowy views outside.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Erik asks, glancing over at him.

"No," Charles admits. "But I'm glad we're going. They need to get out some," he says. Erik says nothing, and Charles doesn't have to skim his thoughts to know what they are. "Look," he says. "It's almost Christmas. It's been a long time, and things have calmed down some. The children are getting much better at handling themselves and their abilities. And if something happens, then..." he trails off, wiggles his fingers beside his head. Erik's lips twitch into a half-aborted smile, and they drive the rest of the way surrounded by the sounds of singing and laughter.

 

The rink they end up at is outdoors and easily the size of half a football field. There's a good number of people on the ice, but it isn't overwhelming crowded, for which Erik is grateful. He's never done well with crowds, and especially not with a hoard of barely controllable children.

He stands beside Charles as the children climb out of the car, eagerly looking around, and ushers them towards the ticket counter once they're all out.

"Six ten and under, four teens, and two adults," Charles is telling the ticket seller, and Erik stands to the side, watching. He watches the children, counting off each one, smiles just a little when one of the older kids starts a hand game with a few of the little ones. He watches Charles, so at ease here, despite everything, and can't help but wonder if Charles used to like ice skating. Charles looks over at him, then, catches his gaze, and Erik knows Charles caught that train of thought. Charles simply gives him a small smile and shakes his head just a little.

_Never had the balance for it, dear_ , he tells him, humor in the tone, and Erik half believes him. 

He also watches the humans, bundled in coats and scarves, with red cheeks and chilly fingers, most of them smiling and laughing. He catches a few lingering looks on their group, on Charles, but nothing seems too untoward to warrant a reaction. Or perhaps he's becoming much too soft.

"I tend to hope it's the latter," Charles tells him quietly, appearing at his side with the tickets for all of them. He hands them out and then children rush off to the skates counter. The eldest has ordered all their sizes, and another checks the laces of the younger ones before they head out.

"I only...worry," Erik admits, and Charles laughs.

"Oh, I know," he says. Erik looks at him, the way his expression has gone soft as he watches the children, the lights of the decorations reflecting in his eyes and throwing shadows across his face. "I do, too."

 

They move to the edge of the rink once the children hit the ice. Erik feels the cold metal, the quick motions of those who glide across the surface and the stuttering, jerky movements of those unsteady and unbalanced. He feels it when one of the youngsters begins to slip and reaches out immediately, keeping the skates still against the ice before she can topple over. She's wide-eyed and preparing for the crash before she realizes she's not falling, so she clutches to the railing to find her footing and seeks out Erik in the crowd, grinning at him wide and bright. One of the older kids swoops by then and scoops her up, and her laughter drifts across the ice.

Charles grabs onto Erik's hand then, holds it between his own. "They really do love you, you know," he says, and Erik sighs, but it's more fond than anything.

"So you've been telling me."

"Professor, Professor!"

There's a small group of them sliding to a stop at the railing in front of Charles and Erik, faces flush and eyes bright.

"Samir taught us out to do some tricks, watch!"

And then they're all gliding away, twists and twirls and a notable jump or two, partner turns and a big group circle at the end. Charles claps for them and they all bow, laughing and shoving at each other, and it's _right_ , it's a memory Erik is glad they'll have, something so golden and pure.

"That's a lot of kids," someone says, and it takes Erik a moment to realize it's the stranger standing beside them, talking to him and Charles.

Charles, who smiles the smile Erik and Raven have dubbed the _I'm the unbiological dad of eighty seven children_ smile.

"There's more at home," he says, and the stranger laughs.

"I can barely manage three sometimes," she chuckles. "Coils of endless energy."

"Exactly! We've become rather creative in planning activities," Charles tells her, and Erik realizes three things.

The first is that, like Charles, he does feel like these children are his own. There’s a surge in his heart when he watches them, a warmth he’s hardly ever felt before. He knows he would do anything for them in a heartbeat; kill someone, sure, but that was never a challenge for him. He knows that for these children, he’s let himself go soft, is standing here in the cold snow surrounded by humans and Christmas decorations because it makes them happy.

The second is that, for the first time in a long time, he's not on a knife's edge, waiting for a threat or attack. He’s simply here, in the moment - the warmth of Charles’s hands wrapped around his own, the sounds of laughter from children and adults alike rising and falling against the background music playing softly from hidden speakers, the humming of the metal he’s surrounded by, skate blades and jewelry and Charles’s chair. The voice in him that’s usually screaming for situation awareness, that keeps him on the lookout every second of every day, has been quieted by the feelings swelling around him, and he knows it’s not Charles’s doing, knows that, for once, he’s finally comfortable enough with himself and those around him to not keep his finger on the trigger.

And the third is that this woman, this complete human stranger, has no ill thoughts towards them at all. She has simply looked up a hoard of children, a handicapped man and his partner, and concluded that they're a family who can relate to her struggles, parents who can at least commiserate, if not offer some kind of advice. It surprises him, so genuinely that he simply blinks at her, eyes no doubt wide and shocked. Charles looks up at him then, the smile on his face faltering just so when he catches the look on Erik’s face. He squeezes Erik’s hand gently, brushes against his mind, and Erik lets him see, lets him see this moment as he does, and Charles’s smile comes back in full force.

“You have a beautiful family,” this stranger tells them with a smile before she walks away, and everything in Erik agrees with her.


End file.
